The Sleeping Spell
by Jazzofborg
Summary: This is about Snape, his wife Kristy (Professor) Hooch and Harry. Plus a little Potions experiment involving the Dursleys at Hogwarts.
1. Default Chapter

The Sleeping Spell  
  
  
  
Fourth Year Student Severus Snape was called to the headmaster's office after his Defense against the Dark Arts class, his favorite.  
  
He wondered what was going on as he tottered towards the gargoyle that marked the entrance to Professor X's office.  
  
"Candy." He commanded to open the creature. It swung aside to reveal a staircase heading for the floor above.  
  
He'd never ever been summoned to Professor X's office before. The only reason he could come up with was that somehow, someway, he'd managed to do something to be expelled.  
  
Severus took one more breath before he started to climb the staircase. At the top there was a wooden door with something inscribed into the wood, but he wasn't in the mood for castle riddles.  
  
He pushed his dark hair out of his eyes before he knocked.  
  
Professor Dracus opened the door immediately. This conformed Severus's worst fears. Dracus was the Head of House for Slytherin; he had to be present for one of his students to be expelled.  
  
Dracus didn't notice Severus steeling himself as he led the boy into the room by his shoulder.  
  
Headmaster X was sitting behind a huge desk. There was a girl seated in front of him, with black hair from Gryffindor. Her head of house was also present along with Professor Torps, who taught curses and charms.  
  
"Please sit," Headmaster X instructed him, "I imagine you're wondering why you're here?"  
  
"Sir, have I been expelled?" Severus asked in a rush.  
  
Headmaster X seemed taken back by this, "No, no we've called you here for another reason, have you done anything to warrant being expelled?"  
  
"No." Severus answered quickly, with his fingers crossed.  
  
"Very well then, I'll let Professor Torps explain."  
  
Torps rose from his chair and went to stand beside the girl, what was her name? Katherine? Kathy?  
  
"Someone, and we're not sure yet who, has placed a curse on this girl."  
  
"I didn't do it." Severus denied positively.  
  
"I didn't say you did. In fact, I know you didn't," Professor Dracus said with a sneer, "You're good in potions, but not that good."  
  
"The nature of the curse is rather delicate." Torps began, trying to feel his way through this. The girl blushed most attractively and ducked her head.  
  
"I can't sleep." She stated plainly, looking at Severus for the first time.  
  
"So what's that got to do with me?" Severus asked, thoroughly confused what he had to do with a Gryffindor student that had difficulty sleeping. Katrina, Krista?  
  
"We've found out most of the properties of the curse," Headmaster X said, "Basically, if she falls asleep without someone touching her then she stricken with nightmares of her worst memories and she can't wake up."  
  
"That's terrible." Severus said, who had plenty of his own bad memories. Kristen? What was her name?  
  
"Apparently the only way she can sleep without nightmares is if someone of the opposite sex, same age and of a different house is touching her skin."  
  
Severus felt his blood run cold. "You. Want me. To sleep with her?" He squeaked out.  
  
"It'd only be until we found out who did it and cure her." Professor Torps said hastily.  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Because I picked you." The girl spoke for the second time. "It has to be Sytherin because that's the opposite house of Gryffindor and you're the only Sytherin that's not completely nasty."  
  
"What? But I don't even know you!" Severus protested.  
  
"I've seen you around since my first year, and you're a lot nicer then any of the other boys in Sytherin. Lucias for example. I'd rather have nightmares then be asleep with him in the room, but you, you're decent."  
  
It was the longest speech any one in the room had heard from her in her entire four years at Hogwarts.  
  
"But." Severus protested again.  
  
"It's only temporary, just until we find a cure." Professor Torps said.  
  
"Severus, you've always been a very discrete boy, you're going to have to keep this a secret." Dracus said.  
  
"We can't rotate students because we want to keep this as quiet as possible." Headmaster X explained.  
  
"Don't worry, it's only temporary." Dracus assured him.  
  
"But," Now Severus blushed, "where will we sleep? I mean, there's four other people in my room and." he trailed off.  
  
Maybe Gryffindors had separate rooms?  
  
"This castle has hundreds of guest bedrooms. You'll meet each other there as soon as the other people in your rooms fall asleep, with a little help from a sleeping spell. Bring a spare robe and your books. If you're at breakfast before anyone else no one will guess."  
  
Severus's mouth flapped up and down like a fish.  
  
"You're both dismissed, to get to know each other. Torps will show you the room."  
  
There really didn't seem to be anything to do but get up and leave.  
  
"Say, what's your name?" Severus asked her as they followed Torps to the room.  
  
"Kristy Hooch." She answered shyly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Kristy rolled over and stretched. It couldn't be morning already. She glanced out the window; it was still dark with night. Still Severus was awake and staring at the ceiling.  
  
She brushed his dark hair away from his face.  
  
"Did you have a dream?" She asked quietly, hesitant to disturb the silence of the room.  
  
"Yes." He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the palm. "I was just dreaming about the first time we met in Professor X's office."  
  
"You looked so scared!" Kristy remembered.  
  
"I thought I was going to be expelled. I don't think I was ever that scared of anything else when I was a student here."  
  
"I can name one other boy that was and still is terrified of being expelled." Kristy said as she settled herself into his arms.  
  
"Must Potter always intrude everywhere?" Severus complained, but lightly.  
  
"It's too early." Kristy told him sleepily. "Besides, it's summer holidays, you won't be seeing Potter for another four weeks."  
  
"For that I am eternally thankful." Severus groused. He rolled over and held Kristy close. "I didn't mean to wake you up, go back to sleep." He kissed the back of her head.  
  
She didn't notice, she was already asleep. Severus looked down at her.  
  
Professor Torps never did manage to find a cure. He himself had investigated Potions to the point of being the world's foremost authority on Potions. No cure. They never even figured out who did it, even Dumbledore with all his talents never managed to remove the curse from Kristy.  
  
Since that night decades ago they had not spent a night apart, except for the nights to see if the curse had been lifted.  
  
Always, Kristy had awoken at dawn, shaking with the nightmares of her parents being killed. They were Muggles, and one night when she was five years old thugs broke into their house and slaughtered her parents. They made her watch. They would have killed her too if the Ministry hadn't intervened.  
  
He tightened his arms around her and forced himself to sleep.  
  
When Severus awoke he saw Kristy's hair spread over the pillow, and beyond that on the bedside table a white bit of fluff was perched.  
  
He raised his head. It was an owl. With a letter. She hooted at him and raised her leg.  
  
Severus sighed and reached over Kristy to untie the letter. "Go up to the owlry, I'll come get you with the reply." He instructed the large white owl. She hooted at him again and flew off through the window.  
  
He glanced at the letter. It was in a muggles envelope and it was address to Professor Hooch. Professor Hooch was currently indisposed as she was still sleeping and was not a morning person.  
  
He sighed. If one of her students had written during holidays it was probably important.  
  
"Kristy, Kristy wake up." He murmured in her ear.  
  
She snuggled farther down into the covers.  
  
"You've got a letter."  
  
Her green eyes popped open. "From who?" She asked sleepily, more interested in going back to sleep then her mail.  
  
He examined it. "It doesn't say."  
  
She took the letter from him and opened it. He read over her shoulder.  
  
"Professor Hooch, I'm writing to you because I heard that Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore would be out of the country this summer. Vondemort was here, he gave me a message to give to Dumbledore. He's going to attack the school this summer. The Dursley's saw him and the Death Eaters and they've locked me in my room. Uncle Vernon said he would break my wand if any more magic happens here. I tried to explain to him but he won't listen. Please let me spend the rest of the summer at the castle, I can stay with Hagrid. He won't mind. Please keep Hedwig there, they've threatened to poison her. I think they will.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Harry Potter  
  
There was silence when they finished reading the letter.  
  
"He will pop up everywhere." Severus said sourly, breaking the silence.  
  
"Severus! This is serious! Vondermort could be following him, and threatening to snap his wand! They should be brought up on charges! And poisoning his owl!" Kristy leapt up and dragged on a clean robe, "Get up, we're taking this to Albus." She ordered Severus, who was currently lounging in bed with the quilt pulled to his waist.  
  
"Why do I have to go?" He complained, but did as she asked. He didn't like the boy but every Professor at Hogwarts knew all about the family he was forced to live with when he wasn't at school.  
  
Wands could not be replaced. If he had any other wand and Vondemort came after him again to kill him he would be killed. This day was just getting worse and worse.  
  
He struggled into his robe and shoes and followed Kristy down the hall. She hadn't even bothered to pull her hair up into the bun she was so fond of.  
  
Severus caught up with her just as she was opening the gargoyle to Dumbledore's domain.  
  
"Twix," She ordered, "What is Twix anyway? No matter." She rushed up the stairs bellowing for Dumbledore.  
  
He came out from the false bookcase into his office.  
  
"What's going on? Is the castle under attack?" He asked annoyed at being awakened this early on his first night back at the castle. He was still in his nightshirt.  
  
"It's Potter!" She waved the letter under his nose. He snatched it and begin to read as Severus leaned against the door to his office, watching his wife bounce on her toes in front of Dumbledore.  
  
"We've got to go get him!" She stated.  
  
"Hagrid loves Harry, he won't mind watching after him for a few weeks. Yes, you've got to go get him, and if Vondermort has managed to bypass the spells we put on Harry then I think both of you should go." Dumbledore decided.  
  
"Now wait just a minute." Severus protested.  
  
"Yes, both of you, if you have to fend off an attack then both of you will be needed and with your unique connect to the Dark Lord, you're the best two people for the job."  
  
"But." Severus was suddenly reminded of that day long ago in this very office when he was protesting another duty.  
  
"No buts. Get Harry here quickly." Dumbledore ordered.  
  
"Leave Hedwig here, and teach the Dursleys a lesson they won't forget."  
  
Snape had to smile at that. "All right. When do we leave?"  
  
Kristy looked at him. "Right now." She bolted down the stairs, "Wait, how are we going to get there?" He shouted after her as she ran back to their bedroom.  
  
"Disapperate. First we'll need Muggles money, and our wands." She stopped her bustling around to look at him.  
  
"Brush your hair-Hair!" She grabbed up her wand and cast a quick hair spell on her self to tame her curly hair and pin it up in a bun.  
  
Five minutes later they were hurrying across the grounds to find Hagrid.  
  
"A' course I'll keep the boy!" He bellowed, "You get him back here double quick, You Know Who's after him you know!"  
  
Now he was shouting at their backs as they raced to the edge of the school grounds.  
  
"How are we going to play this?" Severus asked before they left.  
  
"Let's just knock on the door and see how it goes."  
  
They joined hands and disapperated, focusing very hard on a certain sidewalk on Privet Drive.  
  
  
  
  
  
They could hear shouting from the inside of the house from ten paces away.  
  
"NO! Don't you dare!" A voice they recognized as Harry screamed.  
  
"I will! It'll put a stop to this magic nonsense once and for all!" A male voice shouted right back.  
  
"You can't break my wand!" Harry shrieked, then was cut off with a loud thump. Exactly like a boy hitting a wall.  
  
Hooch and Snape looked at each other. Snape blasted the door open and stepped through. The noise had been coming from upstairs. They raced up the stairs and stopped short at Harry's doorway.  
  
The scene that met their eyes was astounding. Shredded schoolbooks littered the floor. Spilt potions compounds lay in shattered jars, some boiling holes in the floor. Robes had been sliced into so much black material.  
  
There was a man standing in the middle of it all with Harry's wand in his hand. He was fat, with a dumb expression on his little piggy face. A woman, his wife, was sitting on the bed with half a destroyed schoolbook in her lap. There was a boy that resembled an overweigh calf holding a match to a scroll.  
  
Harry was slumped against the wall, unconscious.  
  
"Oh heavens," Kristy raced over to him and tried to wake him up. "Severus, I think he's got a concussion."  
  
Even if he didn't like the lad, he did not hold with physical abuse of children. Or destruction of private property. Or threats toward owls.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" Snape hissed out.  
  
Harry's uncles' eyes bulged out. "Meaning of this! Who are you bursting into my house and interfering with how I raise my nephew-" His voice was cut off because Snape reached out with a spell and froze the Dursleys where they were.  
  
"Harry will be the first to tell you that we do not get along, and I care for him more then you do!" The outburst surprised him; he must be losing his cruel streak.  
  
Absentmindedly, he made a mental note to get it back before the term started.  
  
He kept his wand trained on the frozen muggles as Kristy cast every healing spell she knew on the boy.  
  
"Is he waking up?" Snape asked tersely.  
  
"Yes." As she spoke Harry blinked his eyes and focused on her face.  
  
"Professor Hooch! You came! Vondermort was here." Harry passed out again.  
  
The two adult magicians looked at each other again, they had to get out of here!  
  
"Severus." Kristy began to say, 'you carry him,' but he stepped in and scooped Harry up before turning to face the frozen people.  
  
"Let's turn them into something small, green and hoppy." He suggested with a smile. He mood was lifted considerably by the expression of terror that their eyes took on.  
  
"We haven't time, we must get him back to the school. We'll come back for them." Kristy tossed a glance of pure hatred at the Muggles. Then she looked at the floor. The books were a total write off. Some looked burned.  
  
He was going to need new fifth year books anyway.  
  
"Can't forget this." Kristy plucked the wand out of the uncles hand. There was tension on it. If they hadn't arrived just then he probably would have overridden the anti-snap spells on it with brute force and broken the wand.  
  
"Wait, Potter has a cloak of invisibility, better find that." Snape said with distaste. Just what he needed, to be the one that assured that boy the cloak for another year!  
  
Kristy rummaged around in the broken litter on the ground before she stood up with the scrap of fabric and a few of the intact scrolls and a bit of parchment that had writing on it.  
  
"Let's go." She said, releasing the Dursleys from the spell the instant they left.  
  
"NO! Don't break it!" He screamed as he regained consciousness at Hogwarts.  
  
"It's all right, you're here," Hooch took his hand and squeezed it.  
  
"My wand, he was going to break my wand," Harry gasped.  
  
"It's here, it's safe, and we got their just on time." Hooch assured him.  
  
Harry slumped back into bed, relaxed. "Is Hedwig here?" He asked her.  
  
"Yes but I'm afraid that they destroyed pretty much everything else."  
  
Harry felt moisture building up in his eyes. Hooch noticed.  
  
"What is it?" She asked quietly.  
  
"It's a cloak, the only thing I've got from my parents, I guess the Dursleys destroyed that too." He wiped at his eyes.  
  
"It's here. I forgot all about it but Severus remembered."  
  
"Sever- Professor Snape? Yes, I remember hitting the wall and the pain and then he and you came bursting through the door, I was afraid Hedwig hadn't gotten to you in time. Voldemort gave me a message. I can only repeat it to Dumbledore.  
  
"Harry, are you sure?"  
  
"I'm positive! He said that I was to give Headmaster Dumbledore a message and only him, he put a spell on me so I could only tell him. They he said that the next time he sees me will be when he kills me.  
  
"Really?" Dumbledore came in and heard the last part,  
  
"how's he planning on doing that?"  
  
"He didn't actually say." Harry told him.  
  
"What did he say?" Dumbledore asked curiously, like this wasn't anything particularly unusual.  
  
"He said that he was going to destroy Hogwarts and a generation of witches and the only ones that lived would be the ones that had sided with him! He's going to kill everyone in the school!" Harry struggled to sit up.  
  
"Calm down now, he's tried this before and it didn't succeed. He won't succeed now." He gently but firmly pushed the boy back into the bed.  
  
"You need to sleep some more." Dumbledore cast a quick sleep spell over the boy.  
  
"What do you think?" He turned to the other two. There were the only people at the castle now; every one else had taken off for exotic vacation spots.  
  
"I think we ought to keep him inside and guard him until school starts again." Hooch said firmly.  
  
"Severus?" Dumbledore turned to him.  
  
"As much as I hate to say it, we have to watch the boy. Vondermort still has it in for him for living. Until then perhaps we should teach the Dursley's a quick lesson in children."  
  
"Good idea. I'll leave that up to you." Dumbledore bowed his head, "Until then we'll take turns watching Harry."  
  
Kristy squeezed Harry's hand.  
  
"I'll leave you to guard," Dumbledore said, "I have owls to send about this to the Ministry." He walked out of the room.  
  
"Well, I guess the second honeymoon is off." Severus observed sourly."  
  
"Oh, we'll get away at some point. We have been married for twenty years." Kristy kissed him quickly. "Now, what are we going to do about the Dursleys?"  
  
Severus began to smile. "I have just the idea."  
  
As they begin to talk they didn't notice that Harry's eyes had been shut by the spell, but not his ears. His ears were burning up with what he just heard. Married?  
  
  
  
A/N The Dursley's don't get turned into frogs- instead, something better! The next chapter will be up tomorrow.  
  
Please Review. 


	2. Mouse Hunt

Thank you everyone that reviewed this!  
  
  
  
  
  
After Harry was turned over to Hagrid to watch for the day a giggling Kristy and Severus made the final preparations for the Dursleys. The son was to be left out. Abusing one boy in retaliation for another wouldn't exactly make the point.  
  
"Are you ready?" He asked impatiently for the third time.  
  
"Half a second! It takes time to look like a Muggles!" She swept out of the bathroom where she had been cloistered for the past hour. She was wearing a green dress that brought out the color in her eyes. It was very curvy, in the aspect that Severus was used to seeing her in shapeless robes and not a dress. Kristy had left her hair down and clipped the bangs out of her eyes with dolphin clips.  
  
"How do I look?" She spun in a slow circle.  
  
He gulped. "Gorgeous. This can wait." He stepped towards her quickly.  
  
"No, this can't." She wound her arms around his neck and looked down. He was wearing a suit like the muggles wore, complete with tie. His long gray hair was concealed with a spell to make it look short and neat.  
  
"You look dashing." She complimented her husband. "Let's go." He trailed after her as she swept out of the room.  
  
Together they walked to the edge of Hogwarts. "Now they shouldn't have seen me hardly at all because you froze them so fast and I was bent over Harry, so remember the plan." She cautioned him.  
  
He grinned. It looked ghoulish on his narrow frame. "This is going to be so.educational." He said as he covered himself with his own cloak of invisibility. They smiled at each other one last time before dissaperating to the Dursleys. The son was at a friends house and the timing was finally right.  
  
"Here goes nothing." Kristy said as she rang the bell nervously.  
  
Mrs. Dursley answered a minute later. "Yes?" she asked as she opened the door suspiciously.  
  
"Hello Mrs. Dursley," Kristy said with her happiest voice, "I'm here to make all you problems go away."  
  
"Really?" She tried to shut the door. Severus stuck his foot in the way. She kept leaning on the jammed door.  
  
"My name is Mary McDonnell. I'm a representative of Barnum and Bailey Circus. I've been authorized to spend any amount necessary to acquire something from you." She flashed a bit of identification that she had conjured up right before they left. It was a very impressive badge with a gold seal and her birthday and other numbers muggles were so fond of on it.  
  
"We now, why didn't you say so? Please come in and sit down, my husband will be home in a little bit." At the mention of money she became very friendly.  
  
'Mary' smiled at her tightly and allowed her to be escorted to the living room.  
  
Mrs. Dursley made herself comfortable on the couch and leaned towards Mary.  
  
"What is it you're interested in?" She asked eagerly, trying to figure out which antique she had that this woman was interested in.  
  
"It's not really a thing, it's a person." Kristy was very delicate about this. "There have been some rival circuses and freak shows that managed to acquire students from Hogwarts School-"  
  
"Don't mention that place!" Mrs. Dudley pressed her lips in a thin line. "Get out!"  
  
"Now don't be to hasty! These children are capable of changing things into other things and such, matches into needles and so on, and the owners are interested in getting a child and having it change things for the show, we'd only be interested in an orphan." Mary smiled brightly.  
  
Mrs. Dursley wavered; it would be a chance to get rid of the boy forever.  
  
"He'd be well cared for, and this school doesn't follow what happens to the kids after the first term, a good deal are expelled then, and after. He'd be off your hands, and we'd pay very well for the privilege of becoming his guardians." Kristy resisted casting a spell to assist the woman in deciding.  
  
"I don't know, I'd have to talk to my husband." She finally said.  
  
"Oh, that's perfectly understandable. Now that the subject has been breeched I can be blunt. Tell him that Barnum and Bailey circus is willing to pay ten million pounds to become guardians of Harry Potter."  
  
Mrs. Dursley gasped. "My husband will be home in a few minutes, perhaps you could wait?" She stammered out.  
  
"Of course."  
  
  
  
  
  
Twenty minutes later  
  
  
  
A car pulling into the driveway interrupted Mrs. Dursley's narrative on all the odd things Harry had done in his youth.  
  
She brightened right up. "That's him, just let me talk to him for a second." She popped right up and bounced out the door.  
  
"Ten million pounds, you said?"  
  
"Yes, that's right, we can go higher."  
  
She ran for the driveway.  
  
Kristy could barely contain her disgust with them.  
  
"Don't worry my love, we'll get them." Severus whispered in her ear, still under his cloak.  
  
"I know, they're so despicable! She's actually listening to my offer to buy Harry!"  
  
"Kristy, you know that this is the only way the Ministry will let us do this." Severus hugged her, and then leaned back as the Dursley's burst in.  
  
"Mrs. McDonald, this is just amazing! Just the other day I was thinking, I wonder if someone would be interested in contracting Harry for a side show or something."  
  
Mr. Dursley lied shamelessly.  
  
"Not contract, buy. We'll want permanent guardianship of the boy, as well as a written agreement from you not to ever seek custody of him again. For that we will compensate you ten million pounds." She whipped out a checkbook.  
  
"Now then, not to be hasty, I am rather fond of the boy myself and-"  
  
"Twelve?"  
  
"Done." Mr. Dursley grinned. It was the last grin he did in a very long time. The grin slowly faded as Kristy stood up, shaking with pent up rage.  
  
"You're the two most awful people that I have personally ever met." She stated. "The Ministry of Magic has ruled."  
  
Severus whipped off his cape so they could see him standing beside Minerva.  
  
"Remember me?" He smiled at them.  
  
"You-" was the entire shout they had to time to get out before they were frozen again.  
  
"I see that you do." Severus smiled again, cruelly. "Let me introduce myself. I am Severus Snape Professor at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This in Kristy Hooch, another Professor at Hogwarts."  
  
"We're here to carry out the sentence." Kristy said with relish. "The Ministry of Magic has ruled to if one person tries to sell another into bondage then the seller is to be imprisoned in the place of the Ministries pleasure. The term is nine months. It begins now." Snape waved his wand carelessly and they both disappeared.  
  
Kristy threw her hands around him gleefully. "That felt wonderful! I can't believe that scam worked, but this coming term is going to be so must fun!"  
  
"I know. I still can't decide what lab animal to change them into through." Severus said thoughtfully. "I'll think of something." He looked down at her head. "I always do."  
  
Kristy stepped back and smoothed out her dress.  
  
"I'll wait here for the boy, I'll meet you back at the school." She told him.  
  
"I think I'll wait with you."  
  
Nearly an hour later Dudley stomped into the house loudly shouting, "Mom! I'm hungry! Dinner better be ready!" He stopped short when he saw the two wizards sitting in his living room calmly sipping tea.  
  
Severus froze him before he had a chance to say anything.  
  
He stood up and towered over the boy. He managed to shiver in terror through the spell.  
  
'I still got it!' Severus thought gleefully.  
  
"Listen to me boy, we've taken your parents away. They'll be back in six months. Probably. If they live." He waited a moment to let Dudley absorb the words. "Listen to me carefully boy, you'll get on the bus to Smelting school, you'll pretend to write to your parents all term and you will tell no one what happened!" Severus smiled at him. "If you do all this, they might live."  
  
Dudley fainted dead away, only the spell kept him upright.  
  
"Really, even if he is a muggle you didn't have to terrify him." Kristy scolded gently as she cast a spell to remove his memory of the last five minutes and replace it with a memory of his parents having to go off to visit a sick relative.  
  
  
  
Later..  
  
  
  
Professors Snape, Hooch and McGonagall were in the dungeon staring at the Muggles behind the bars.  
  
"You can't keep us here forever! We'll have Scotland Yard after you-"  
  
"Oh shut up." Kristy told him. Shocked, he did so. The woman hadn't said a word the entire time.  
  
"You are being punished for attempting to sell a human being. The Ministry of Magic has saw fit to imprison you here for the duration of your sentence. I'm to be your keeper." Snape informed them.  
  
Now the woman spoke up. "You can't be serious."  
  
"Oh we are." Kristy assured her.  
  
"As your keeper I have decided that it would be best for all concerned if you aren't you, so to speak."  
  
Professor McGonagall started to chant a difficult spell. As she spoke the Dursleys started to shrink and sprout white hairs all over themselves.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry was hopping from foot to foot as he waited at the castle enterence for the students to finally arrive.  
  
The past four weeks had been fun, allowed to roam the castle by himself but it wasn't the same without Ron.  
  
Still, he had found another secret passage that led straight into the Sytherin Common room. It was in a deserted hall on the seventh floor behind a fake wall panel. There was an inscription on the wall inside.  
  
'This passage created by a joint effort by Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff eighth years to watch over the sly Slytherins.'  
  
He did a bit of research in the library and discovered that the only time an eighth term was offered was between 1215 and 1389 and only for students that were studying Advanced Dark Arts. All the spells they studied were made illegal in the year 1390 and the eight term was dropped.  
  
Harry's attention was drawn from the past to the now when Ron shouted his name.  
  
"Harry!" Ron shouted as he came in the door, "Ron!" Harry shouted right back and the boys barreled towards each other in a hug that became a group hug when Herminione joined in.  
  
"I missed you so much!" They all said at the same time.  
  
"What's going on? Why haven't you written-"  
  
"It was awful, and I never have to go back-"  
  
"Where have you been-"  
  
All three of them started to talk at the same time and were interrupted by Professor McGonagall clearing her throat.  
  
They looked around and realized that everyone else was already in the hall, except for the first years, which were staring at them.  
  
"Sorry." Harry said as they sprinted for the Gryffindor table.  
  
"I've found out the most amazing thing about Snape." Harry whispered as they took their seats. "I'll tell you when we're alone."  
  
They waited as the sorting hat sorted the first years into houses. Gryffindor had six new members. All girls. One was so small she looked too young to be at Hogwarts.  
  
Soon the banquet was over and Professor Dumbledore made his speech.  
  
"My students, final Seventh years and little First years, and everyone in between. I have an announcement to make. Everywhere except the Quiddich fields and the area for study of magical creatures and the greenhouses are off limits this term until further notice.  
  
He waited while the student body collectively groaned.  
  
"Vondemort is back."  
  
It got so quiet that they could hear the cooing of the owls perched in the windowsills.  
  
"We have reason to believe that he might attack the castle. He has tried this once before without success and he will fail this time also. Hogwarts will never fall to evil. The very magic that created the castle has seen to that. Until then, I expect all of you-" His eye lingered a little longer on the Gryffindor table that Harry and his friends were seated at before moving on. "To obey me in this. Do not go anywhere else on the grounds unless you are with a teacher that you know personally. Do not go to the outside classes if you must walk there alone. If you are tardy stay in the castle. If you are outside at all you must have one other person with you. I'll need to speak to the Prefects after the banquet." Dumbledore sat down.  
  
That grim little speech compared to the cheerful one Dumbledore had stated five years ago was an eye opener to how times were changing.  
  
A very subdued Harry, Ron and Hermione walked with the rest of the Gryffindors to their dorm. Dumbledore's announcement surprised and shocked them all so much they forgot to ask Harry about Snape and he forgot to tell them.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The next day at breakfast they got their schedules.  
  
"Potions first!" groaned Ron, "this term's going to be awful!"  
  
"It might not be so bad." Harry told him, "he hinted that we'd have some sort of year long project to do."  
  
"Really? When?" Herminione asked.  
  
"Last week- Snape's married!" Harry told them as he remembered.  
  
Ron snorted pumpkin juice out his nose. "No he's not." He finally managed to gasp out.  
  
"Yes he is, I heard them while I was in the Medical wing. He was planning on going on a second Honeymoon with Professor Hooch." Harry said as they got up from the table.  
  
"Naw. really?" Ron still didn't believe it.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You shouldn't be gossiping about teachers." Herminione told them as they walked to the dungeons.  
  
They stepped into the classroom and took their seats right before Professor Snape stepped out of this office. He was carrying a box under his arm. He set it down on his desk then faced the class.  
  
He pursed his lips. He sighed disappointedly. The class tried not to fidget. "I don't suppose," he said, "I don't suppose any of you will pass this exercise" He sighed again.  
  
"In this box behind me are some of the most dangerous criminals in the world. They have been transfigured into mice for this experiment. You will have to change them back. Yes Granger?"  
  
"Sir, why-" She started to ask before he cut her off.  
  
"I will tell you why. Transfiguration can be used to hide people, and you will need to know how to tell if an animal is a transfigured human and how to force them to change back. Each mouse has only one way to change it back. What works for one mouse will not work for another. There are many potions and spells to force a transfigured person back into human form. That is why you have all year. I suggest you prepare many potions at once. On this one occasion I will provide extra cauldrons and potions ingredients from my private store. Yes Granger?"  
  
"Sir, aren't these people criminals-"  
  
"I'm getting to that." Snape snapped at her. "If you transform your subject back and they get a wand, your house loses one hundred points. If they escape or kill someone, five hundred points."  
  
He stared at the class as they realized what they would be responsible for. Only Herminione looked slightly happy.  
  
"You will all get two cages from that pile and when I call your name you will come up here and get your mice. You will receive two, one regular mouse and one transfigured human. You must tell me, which is which between now, and next Monday. I will not tell you if you are right. You do not have to bring the mice back to class unless I tell you to."  
  
He sat down behind his desk as the student picked up the cages. They were about ten inches square, wire with a solid wooden bottom. There was a number One and Two painted on the bottom. Two cups had been wired into the corners for food and water. Harry and Ron grabbed up two cages each and sat down next to each other.  
  
"Potter." Snape called in a bored voice.  
  
Harry carried his two cages up to the front of the class room and flipped to tops open. Snape stared at him then reached into the box. It was partitioned into many little spaces with two mice each in each. He selected one in the corner and yanked the mice up by their tails. Harry winced in sympathy, then went back to his seat as Snape made a note of which mouse he dropped into which cage.  
  
It took the rest of the class to get everyone set up with mice. After they were dismissed there was barely enough time to drop the mice off in their dorm before Transfiguration.  
  
As expected, Professor McGonagall told them that she couldn't suggest spells or help them in any way. Then she told them that they had to write an essay about how to tell an animagi from a regular animal.  
  
They day flew by and they got back into the swing of things. All the teachers felt that they'd had all summer to mess around and gave them twice the usual amount of homework.  
  
That evening in the Common Room every flat surface was taken up with cages. Some students, like Neville, had put tags on their cages so they wouldn't accidentally switch their mice with someone else. Ron felt this was a good idea and proceeded to tag all of their cages. Harry's were purple, Herminione's red and his own cages had little orange circles of plastic hanging off the corner.  
  
After half an hour of fruitless spell casting Herminione stood up in frustration. "I can't hear myself think in here." She announced. "Let's go up to your room."  
  
Agreeing with her they gathered their mice and went up the stairs just as someone's spell backfired and shot a cage whizzing around the room. The fourth one that night.  
  
They settled in on Ron's bed and drew the curtains in case someone had to change clothes.  
  
"The first thing we have to do is figure out which mouse is real and which is fake." Herminione took charge.  
  
"All real mice move to the center of the cage." Ron ordered them. None of them budged from whatever corner they were huddled in. He shrugged. "It was worth a try."  
  
"Half a second," She flipped through a book she got from the library on lunch hour.  
  
"Trials and Transfigurations." Harry tilted his head and read the cover. "Will this help?"  
  
"Yes. It was in the restricted section and-"  
  
"Hold up, how'd you get a book out of the restricted section?" Harry asked.  
  
"I asked Professor Flitwick. He likes me." She told them.  
  
"Anyway, this book has every spell and potion known to wizard in it on Transfiguration through the ages, it also contains a summery of how the spell was discovered and all known side effects. Like what would happen if used on something that wasn't transfigured." She told them as she flipped through, looking for a page.  
  
"The only downside is that it has to be back by tomorrow night." Herminione said. "So, if one of you will get a quill, I'll read the spell out loud and we'll have our own copy."  
  
They scrambled off the bed. Harry grabbed a quill while Ron was still rooting around in his trunk.  
  
"I'm ready." He said as he held a blank scroll. Herminione stared at him. "I'm going to use a locomotion spell." She informed him. "So you don't write your fingers off."  
  
"Oh." He said sheepishly and set the scroll down.  
  
Herminione raised her wand.  
  
"Locomotus Quillus."  
  
She flicked her wand and the quill jumped up, ready to copy. Herminione started reading, and kept reading, and kept reading. She read potions and spells, occasionally stopping to try one out on the stack of mouse cages. Harry had to change the scroll twice. Ron had half a spell written on his blankets when Harry wasn't paying attention and the quill just kept copying.  
  
"Stopus Locomotus." Herminione finally ordered. "This is the one I was looking for."  
  
"You were looking for one?" Ron yawned.  
  
"Yes, the others are for the actual transfiguration. Let's see now.." She read the spell again to make sure she got it right.  
  
"We need some water."  
  
Harry sat up, massaged his sleepy legs then got the jug on the dorm table. It was always full of water, there was a spell that the house, or castle, elves had put on it so the student's wouldn't get thirsty.  
  
"Here we are." Harry said.  
  
Herminione scooped some out and sprinkled it on each mouse.  
  
"Have a care!" Ron yelped as she dripped some on his bed.  
  
"Don't worry. Now then." She muttered a stream of Latin so fast that they didn't have time to hear the actual words.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
"What was supposed to happen?" Ron asked her.  
  
"Nothing now. In the morning the real mice will be dotted black and the transfigured people will be dotted yellow."  
  
"Nice."  
  
"Are you going to go to bed in there or what?" A voice asked from outside the curtain.  
  
Ron stuck his head out. To his surprise, every curtain, except for Harry's and Seamus's was drawn.  
  
"What time is it?" He asked Seamus.  
  
"Nearly midnight. Did you figure a way to tell the real mice for the fake?" He asked with a gleam in his eye.  
  
"We don't know yet." Ron told him as Herminione and Harry clambered out of bed with their mice cages and headed for their own sleeping quarters.  
  
Harry settled his mice on his trunk and topped off their food. The mouse in the number '1' cage was in the corner ripping up papers to make a nest. The mouse in the number '2' cage was still cowering in the corner. It was grossly overweight. Harry wondered what horrible spell it had suffered before to make it that fat. He decided to name it Vernon after his uncle.  
  
  
  
Can you guess who the fat mouse is???? The next part will be more Severus/Kristy oriented and will explain their past with You-Know-Who.  
  
Please review. What specifically do you like? If I know, I'll give you more.... 


	3. Of mice and men

Thank you everybody that reviewed! Remember, this is a whole semester long experiment so its going to be awhile before Harry changes his mice back. However Hermione overachiever that she is is going to make a break through soon.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry rolled over and yawned. He blinked one sleepy eye open and saw a bit of wire gleaming beyond the foot of his bed between the curtains.  
  
He sat up with a start and pulled the curtain away, certain he would be able to tell which mouse was real. No such luck. Nothing had happened. They were supposed to be spotted loud colors. Instead, the mice were still plain white mice.  
  
Harry sighed and got up. Ron was still asleep. His mice hadn't changed either. Harry dumped a little more food into the cage to top off what he gave them last night.  
  
It looked like Vernon hadn't eaten anything.  
  
"I am not going to have a mouse that's a picky eater!" Harry informed it. It sat in the corner and quivered. He sighed annoyed. "Fine, I'll bring you some toast or something. Don't die on me." The other mouse was happily burying the extra food in all the paper in the cage like a normal mouse.  
  
Harry stumbled down the stairs into the common room and dropped his book bag on the table. He briefly thought about skipping breakfast and going back to bed when Herminione bounded down the stairs.  
  
She was skipping in happiness. "Oh it worked!" She exclaimed. "What? No it didn't." Harry said. "Not on mine and Ron's mice."  
  
"Ron and I." She corrected him automatically. "What do you mean? My mice are flashing quite brightly. The one in cage 1 is the real person."  
  
"I don't know. I just didn't work for our mice." Harry said glumly as Ron came down the stairs and they all went to breakfast.  
  
  
  
  
  
At that very moment Severus Snape was sitting in his own chambers next to the window reading essays written for the 'Advanced Flying Techniques' class for sixth and seventh years.  
  
"Severus, why are you reading my homework?" Kristy asked as she arranged her hair in the short spiky style she preferred when she was teaching. It was easier to keep neat then a bun.  
  
He snorted. "Entertainment. Listen to this," He started to read from the essay in his hand. "To counteract the north wind during a Quiddich match cast the Blokantium charm and then- hey!"  
  
"These essays are none of your business. Especially since they are not your students." She huffed at him as she lifted the stack of scrolls up and marched into her office.  
  
"You can read my potions essays." He offered her grandly.  
  
"No! I've seen some of them, I don't fancy reading about the seventeen uses of snail's eyes as entertainment." Kristy Hooch-Snape shouted at him as she made room for the essays on her crowded desk. It sounded like a stack of papers just hit the floor. The profanity Kristy uttered confirmed it.  
  
Snape smiled a quiet little smile to himself. Who knew being married would be so much fun? Certainly not Lucias Malfoy. He wasn't married when he introduced Snape to Lord Voldemort. As quick as that his thoughts drifted away from listening to Kristy putter about in the next room to that fateful night.  
  
"Come on Severus, he's very powerful." Lucias had bothered him, "I'm sure whatever it is that plagues poor Kristy he can cure."  
  
So, like a trusting fool he had gone with him to his first meeting with Death Eaters. The things he saw there had sickened him but Lucias had told the truth.  
  
This wizard styling himself 'Lord Voldemort' was quite powerful.  
  
"Come forth Severus Snape." Voldemort had ordered him.  
  
Almost without knowing what he was doing, Snape stepped out of the circle from where he was standing beside Lucias to the center.  
  
"I know all, Severus Snape." Voldemort had told him, in that dry slimy voice. "I know of the nightmares that will forever plague your wife."  
  
"How do you-" Snape started to ask but Voldemort cut him off.  
  
"I know all. Join with me and I can show you." Voldemort extended his hand. Like a fool, Severus took it.  
  
That night he received the Dark Mark. That night he became an outcast to wizarding society. He was quite foolish. For a while he labored under the impression that if he brewed one more potion, murdered one more person, then Lord Voldemort would lift the curse from Kristy, or show him how to do it.  
  
'I was foolish,' Snape thought bitterly as he relived that time. 'So foolish.' Kristy broke into his mood. "Severus? Are we going to breakfast or not?" She asked, tapping her foot by the door impatiently.  
  
"Course." Smoothly, he rose to his feet with no hint of what he'd been thinking reveled on his face.  
  
  
  
  
  
At the Gryffindor table a girl with bushy brown hair pondered the problem of why Ron and Harry's mice didn't flash colors.  
  
"I've got it!" She suddenly shouted. "I know why the spell only worked on my mice!"  
  
"Wrf?" Ron asked around a mouthful of toast.  
  
"He said that each mouse only had one spell that could transform it back! So there must be some kind of rotating charm on all the test mice to be sure no spell works twice." Hermione pondered.  
  
"So it only worked on your mice because you did the spell?" Harry summed it up.  
  
"Yeah, basically. Oh dear, this means that the more people are changed back, the fewer spells there are to try." The girl announced darkly. "Oh, this is a hard experiment."  
  
Neville, who was sitting on the other side of Ron, gulped loudly. "Oh dear." He said mournfully into his cereal.  
  
  
  
  
  
Classes that day went by in a blur. That evening Hermione was still happily sequestered in the library so Ron and Harry were playing with their mice.  
  
"They need names. Even if two are violent criminals and already have names." Ron said as he watched his mice glumly.  
  
"I already named this one, he's Vernon." Harry picked up Vernon's cage and held it eye level. He had eaten a little of the toast Harry poked in there after lunch. Right now the mouse was sitting in the farthest corner of the cage, glaring at Harry.  
  
Suddenly it jumped sideways and nipped at his fingers. "Hey!" Harry shouted as he nearly dropped the cage. "Don't do that!"  
  
"Isn't Vernon your uncle's name?" Ron asked absently as he let one of his mice run up and down his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, see how fat he is? And the beady eyes? Really this mouse looks like him. Except he's not fuzzy. And Dudley's the one with the tail." Harry chuckled at that memory.  
  
Ron grabbed his mouse off his shoulder. "I'll call the tamer one Josie." He fastened Josie into her cage and bent over to stare at the other mouse.  
  
"This one's mean, tries to nip at me every chance she gets. What's a mean sounding girls name?"  
  
Harry bent over to study the mouse in question. It was glaring regally around the cage and for a mouse, actually managed to look…prissy?  
  
"I don't really know any mean girl's names. Maybe someone in Slytherin?" They pondered the problem.  
  
"I got one!" Ron was inspired, "how about Pansy? She's always hanging after Malfoy."  
  
"No, how about another flower name?" Harry grimly smiled, "Petunia after my aunt."  
  
Ron stuck his finger by the wire of Petunia's cage, she leapt from her position to try and bit him. Harry watched his friend bait the mouse for several minutes. Ron would move his hand around the cage and Petunia was working herself into a frenzy trying to get him.  
  
Harry leaned back and studied the creature. She had a really long neck for a mouse he thought idly.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: RL and midterms have reared up. I'll try to have the next part up in two weeks. In the next chapter Harry going to start trying out spells. 


End file.
